NEWS Corporation, the media company run by Australian-born tycoon Rupert Murdoch, is facing growing pressure to raise its bid for BSkyB following a strong third-quarter performance by the satellite TV group.

BSkyB, whose main attractions are premium sport and movie channels, added a better-than-expected 51,000 new customers in the third quarter to the end of March – ahead of most analysts’ predictions of around 45,000 – as revenue grew 12.8% year on year to £1.65 billion.

The additional subscribers took BSkyB’s total customer base to 10.1 million.

The company said it had no update on a public consultation on News Corp’s proposed bid for BSkyB and would continue to co-operate with the regulatory process.

Chief executive Jeremy Darroch yesterday said no formal offer had been received from News Corp.

BSkyB shares gained 7.5p, or 0.9%, to 842p. The shares had risen from 600.5p before News Corp’s approach was made public last June, helped by strong growth that is likely to make any acquisition of BSkyB more expensive the longer the process continues.

Mr Darroch said customers remained cautious amid a bleak economic environment and were looking for value, helping BSkyB sell its packages of TV and home communications services. “I do not think those trends will change,” he declared.

The introduction of Sky Atlantic has helped boost HD (high definition) customer growth by 47% to 3.7 million. Growth was slower than the previous quarter but was towards the high end of analysts’ forecasts. BSkyB also sold more products to its customers, driving annualised average revenue per user to £544 from £503 a year earlier.

The Sky Atlantic channel carries US-produced dramas such as Boardwalk Empire and Mad Men. Both shows received good reviews when first broadcast in the United States.

Pre-tax profits for the three-month period were £238m, down from £354m in the same period in 2010, which the group puts down to the £115m forced disposal of ITV shares last year.

The Government was expected to give clearance soon for News Corp to bid for the 61% of BSkyB it does not already own.

The two parties decided to seek regulatory approval before entering serious price negotiations.

Last June, News Corp and BSkyB said they had held talks but disagreed on price. News Corp had offered 700p per share, while BSkyB’s independent directors demanded more than 800p per share. The broadcaster said that it had incurred £12m of costs in association with the bid, but stood to be reimbursed for that by News Corp if no offer was made.